Apple: Make MacBooks Great Again
Dear Apple,
I love my 2014 MacBook Pro. It has been a rock-solid development machine, especially when I’m building mobile apps. You’ve made it pretty rough to do iOS development on anything else, but I can let that slide because your hardware is sooo good.
But as computers often do, mine is beginning to slow down as it ages. That means I need to replace it in the not-too-distant future. However, I am not thrilled with the prospect of replacing this near-perfect machine with your current offerings.
If you’re wondering why, here’s my list. It’s not a huge list, but the weight of these needs is great.
RAM – It’s 2018. 16 GB is not enough. Not for graphic designers, not for video producers, and not for software developers – especially when virtualized Windows is involved. I cannot continue to starve Parallels of RAM because of this limitation. A reasonably-priced 32 GB option is necessary.
Keyboard – Look, I know you’re obsessed with thin but don’t you think we’ve gone thin enough? That new design is a pain to use. Believe me, I’ve tried. I’m a touch typist and I can’t rest my fingers on your new keyboard without it accidentally registering a couple keystrokes. And let’s not forgot about the number of failures that have been reported and that are leading to lawsuits.
Touch Bar – Personally, I don’t think this is a failure. Maybe it’s a solution in search of a problem, maybe not. But I know that I don’t want it. As I’ve said above, I’m a touch typist and I need to feel those function keys. If I have to hold down the Fn key to see them, my whole rhythm is messed up. If you made the Touch Bar an option, you’d please both sides of the argument (and maybe learn how many people really like or don’t like it – market research!).
If these three needs could be addressed, you’d have a guaranteed sale in a New York minute. But as it stands right now, I am seriously considering buying a Windows laptop.
Let me cut to the chase: I don’t want to buy a Windows-based machine. I want a new MacBook Pro, a true spiritual successor to my 2014 machine. Please Apple, MAKE MACBOOKS GREAT AGAIN!
Sincerely,
Chad Michel
